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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

On the start of presidential campaign season

Those of you not living under rocks have undoubtedly noticed that the 2016 presidential campaign is underway. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has formally announced her candidacy and is cruising to the nomination. On the Republican side, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio are officially seeking the GOP nomination for president, and many others are sure to join in.

Election season is a lonely time for secular pro-lifers. We care about the right to life, which puts us at obvious odds with Clinton. We also care about church-state separation, which puts us at odds with... just about everyone, actually, but while candidates of both parties are guilty of religious pandering, Republicans are (on average) louder.

Secular pro-lifers are all over the map politically. Some of us are single-issue pro-life voters, others balance abortion along with other issues that are important to us, and still others are so disgusted with the process that we don't vote at all or vote third party. We are liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and centrists.

Secular Pro-Life itself is strictly nonpartisan. Our role here is to foster community and friendly debate, in the hope of helping one other stay sane through the next 19 months.

So we open the floor to all of you. What factors are you weighing as you consider the candidates? Do you have a favorite? Or are you inclined to find a rock to hide under until November 9, 2016?